‘Ease up on drinkers’ says brewery director (From York Press)

‘Ease up on drinkers’ says Black Sheep Brewery managing director

8:27am Monday 3rd December 2012 in Pints of View

THE managing director of Black Sheep Brewery is calling for indications of a beer tax rise break from Chancellor George Osborne in the Autumn Statement on Wednesday.

Rob Theakston, of the Masham-based brewery, said that unless the Government was aiming for beer to become a luxury commodity, it needed to put the brakes on the perennial tax increase.

He said: “Whilst I understand that the Government needs to boost its coffers to meet the hard economic targets it has set, it is time for a bit of a break in the constant rises in beer tax.

“People are having to deal with the rising cost of many foodstuffs imposed upon them because of external influences on such things as the price of raw materials, so another increase in the beer tax would add more pain to the pocket.”

Beer duty has increased by more than 40 per cent in the last four years and, since 1990 there have been 20 increases imposed on drinkers. The UK pays more than 40 per cent of the total EU duty bill while only consuming 13 per cent of the total beer volume, he said.